The Hawthorns, down in Birmingham, is today’s big match venue,
It’s West Bromwich Albion – The Baggies – who are on the menu,
So the Boro must be professional and so ensure that the job’s done,
By taking all three points off our old boss, Bryan Robson.

Robbo will surely seek, as any proverbial new broom,
To sweep the Boro aside and inflict the maximum gloom,
For the boos he received on his last day as Boro’s boss,
He’ll be trying to prove that Baggies’ gain is Boro’s loss.

Within moments of the whistle and with truly great aplomb,
Clement raced towards the target, as precisely as a bomb,
He is stopped in full flight by McMahon’s terrific block,
And, though a corner is conceded, the Boro do survive the shock.

Boateng brings in Downing who, almost at the speed of light,
Runs from inside the Boro’s half, a truly wondrous sight,
He then unleashed a marvellous shot, that missed by just a foot,
And the energy he’d expended left him feeling quite kaput.

Earnshaw’s dangerous volley into the box then flew,
And landed as the feet of the dangerous Kanu,
Who was blighted by French Franck, as he got a sight of goal,
Then the Boro survived two corners and again took full control.

A quick free-kick by Boro then saw Bolo’s speed of thought,
Which surprised the Baggies’ ‘keeper, who was very nearly caught,
From all of thirty-five yards: that’s the least that it appeared,
Hoult pushed it for a corner and that was very quickly cleared.

Kanu then rolled Riggott and, though he’s not especially speedy,
He beat his man a second time, and that was just a wee bit greedy,
Then, from a quite impossible angle, he tested Boro’s big goal-minder,
Who pushed it for a corner as he enjoys another blinder.

It’s now Boro on the counter after Schwarzer’s world-class stop,
The charge is led by Zenden, trying to catch them on the hop,
Then Scimeca brought Viduka down when he had really striven,
But the referee said, “No penalty,” although I’ve often seen them given.

A strike of truly awesome power from the head of JFH,
Rebounded from the crossbar and really rattled Baggies’ cage,
Downing’s corner was perfection then the danger was unfurled,
And Jimmy had the ‘keeper really beaten to the world.

Then Boro finally take the lead and Purse’s face is florid,
When his own-goal caps an afternoon, that’s so far been so torrid,
Downing and then Jimmy both faced tackles they averted,
And over the diving ‘keeper’s body, the ball was quickly squirted.

Earnshaw nutmegs Queudrue then brings Kanu into play,
The ball’s returned and Earnshaw brings the best save of the day,
When Schwarzer gets a foot to it and Riggott kicks it clear,
That was yet another warning as the Baggies came so near.

Contra then turns Queudrue well and truly inside out,
Earnshaw’s just six yards from goal, aching to have a clout,
That golden opportunity; with Boro’s goal unmanned and gaping,
Was snapped up with alacrity; there was no way of escaping.

The first half was competitive and the crowd appears quite happy,
But, though chances were created, in patches it was scrappy,
Franck’s not had the best of times and there’s no time for relaxation,
When Contra skinned him to make the goal, he kicked the post in sheer frustration.

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Six minutes after the half’s begun,
The Baggies’ defence is again undone,
When Boateng and Downing then combine,
To bring a goal that was quite divine.

As Downing advanced the Baggies’ defence withdrew,
Then the quite brilliant cross arrived, immaculately on cue,
Bolo’s wonderful execution brought him really well-earned kudos,
He timed it to perfection and used the power in the cross.

Jimmy’s running in on goal and he is then sent crashing,
And, for ignoring Downing, he earns a really good ear-bashing,
Then the trailing Baggies seek to find a fresh solution,
And they surprisingly lose Earnshaw in a double substitution.

A rash foul by Chris Riggott as Kanu was running free,
Brought the hosts a dangerous free-kick, well inside the ‘D,’
Although the kick was wasted, the pressure on Boro remains incessant,
And McClaren, in the dugout, is looking almost incandescent.

Contra picks out Horsfield, who made a really classy turn,
And whipped a ball across the goal, for which all strikers yearn,
It was a golden chance for 2-2 but it was one they chose to fritter,
When Rob Hulse, quite amazingly, from five yards then missed a sitter.

A ball’s then flung into the box, to which Kanu then soars,
To head it back to Hulse and the Baggies’ crowd just roars,
But the header lacked conviction and the fans began to whine,
When Schwarzer, agile and alert, promptly saved it on the line.

Great Baggies’ play along the left very nearly turned things sour,
When Clement had a pot at goal, struck with such awesome power,
He thought he’s made it all square and his face revealed the torture,
When the shot was saved quite brilliantly, by our big Aussie, Mark Schwarzer.

Zenden leaves the field of play and Doriva joins the action,
Presumably, with moments left, to shore things up a fraction,
He was instantly in the thick of things with our backs against the wall,
For now we’re playing ‘stoppage time,’ and we can’t afford to fall.

Kanu missed a sitter but he’s had a real nightmare,
And manager, Bryan Robson, quietly stands there in despair,
He simply can’t believe his man has somehow flashed it wide,
And the final whistle sounds, to leave him totally mortified.

By-and-large, throughout the game, the Boro maintained control,
But it wasn’t as many fans had thought, a Sunday afternoon stroll,
For Baggies finished strongly with an almost-telling flourish,
But Boro held out to the end, for three more points to cherish.

So, it’s three more points for Boro, to push us back to fourth,
No doubt the travelling faithful will be happy returning north,
But it might have been so different and we can’t become blasé,
And now we’ll say to Robbo, “All the best,” as of today.